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Necrosphinx
Necrosphinxes are nightmarish beasts of destruction that glide through the air in bounding leaps before falling amongst their terrified prey, scything down the living as mortals reap the wheat of the field. None can stand against such terrifying beings, and only when all before them have been butchered will they stop. A Necrosphinx is a bizarre and horrifying statue - a strange amalgamation of the mythical beasts that are said to inhabit the Nehekharan Underworld, maintaining order amongst the honoured dead. A Necrosphinx has a torso and face of a man, and is armed with gigantic, scything blades that can sever the neck of a Dragon in a single slice. Many also have a scorpion-like tail, better enabling them to stand sentry against the predations of evil. Finally, sprouting from the statue's back are a pair of ornate wings which mimic those of the falcons that circle the highest levels of the Underworld, keeping watch so that the souls of the damned may not escape. Overview It was believed that by combining all these forms the ancient Nehekharans were creating the ultimate warrior, one that possessed the strength to destroy all their enemies. However, many of the Mortuary Cult's Liche Priests believed these sculptures to be an abomination, whose presence would curse the land, for surely such beasts had no right to exist on the mortal plane. Following a century of plague and famine, the superstitious kings of Nehekhara agreed that the Necrosphinxes were to blame, but none dared destroy them in case it angered the gods of the Underworld. Instead, vast pits were dug in the desert in which the Necrosphinxes were buried and all but forgotten with the passage of time. The Necrosphinxes did not see the light of day again until millennia later, when a mighty Orc Waaagh! swept down from the Badlands into Nehekhara. The greenskin horde attacked with a score of monstrous Wyverns at their head, destroying everything in their path. As the Waaagh! pushed towards Khemri, Settra himself ordered the Mortuary Cult to reawaken the ancient Necrosphinxes. More fearful of Settra's wrath than anything else, the cowering Liche Priests obeyed and began a week-long magical ceremony. Upon the ritual's completion, a deep rumble reverberated throughout the desert. Moments later, fountains of bone-dry earth exploded from the ground as a dozen Necrosphinxes broke the surface. Without pause the stone monsters pounced upon the greenskins, slaughtering the savages with every sweep of their massive claws. Not even the mighty Wyverns could halt their murderous rampage, for the nightmarish statues cut through the greenskin's monsters' thick, scaly necks with single strokes of their razor sharp pincers. All Necrosphinxes have since been reclaimed from the desert sands to stand proudly in the sun once more, forming an important part of the Tomb Kings' eternal armies, and wherever they travel they spread death and destruction. Warfare The Liche Priests do not think that a Necrosphinx is animated by the soul of a valiant warrior like the other war-statues that walk beside the Tomb King's skeletal legions. Instead, they believe that the sinister gods, Pha'a and Usekph, breathed life into these horrifying creations. These malevolent deities are said to dwell within mighty tombs beneath the sands, buried by the other gods for their destructive ways. If the Liche Priests are right, then the mysterious gods have finally found a means by which to vent their fury upon the world. Whatever the truth, deep within every Necrosphinx is the burning need to destroy, and the incantations of servitude laid upon them are the only things that keep them from turning upon their creators and tearing Nehekhara asunder. Gallery Necrosphinx_Total_War_Warhammer_Render.jpg Total War Necrosphinx Render 2.jpg Total War Necrosphinx Render 3.jpg Total War Necrosphinx Render 4.jpg Miniatures Necrosphinx Tomb Kings 8th Edition Miniature.jpg|8th Edition. Source * Warhammer Armies: Tomb Kings (8th Edition). ** Page 50. es:Necroesfinge Category:Tomb Kings Military Category:N Category:Mortuary Cult Category:Constructs